A friend just asked if I want his flock of laying hens

The Chicken People

Songster
10 Years
May 4, 2009
2,440
5
191
Smithville, Mo
He has 14 and Hubby and I are thinking about it! We will put them in with our RIR Rooster over the winter! Can you say fertile eggs for my broodies in the Spring?
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And his hens lay the prettiest biggest brown eggs ever! My egg customers will be happy!
Prices will go up!
 
Nice! Remember to quarantine. I was offered a flock of hens and a bantam roo this year. But I had just increased my flock size and had no way of quarantining the new birds, so I decided not to go for it. I would have liked to, but my flock is too important to me to risk their health bringing in new adult birds.

Good luck with them.
 
OMG, that is wonderful. I wish someone would offer me their flock. Although I think 85 is enough until spring... LOL. I say go for it.
 
I have just put my two flocks in the new coop and was successful at their integration! 21 hens in the new coop!
The old coop is housing a rooster that I have been debating on keeping or eating? I think he would love him some girls! These hens are healthy and so is he should I really worry about quarantine?
 
Depends on whether or not you're a gambler at heart. Chickens coming from another flock could be carrying something to which they are immune but yours are not. Saying that, I've integrated new birds several times without the quarantine (other than a few days' separation so they could see each other but not fight) and have had no problem. Others have had problems. Your choice as to whether to take the safe road or the possibly sorry one!
 
If the second coop is separate from the first, use that as your quarantine area. I would put them right in with the lone rooster.
 
Quote:
Always quarantine. The exception is if you have one lone chicken. They need companionship from their own kind. You will never regret quarantining first, but could regret it if you don't. I've brought home healthy birds from a different area, and with them gave my flock a nasty strain of cocci. It is likely those birds were immune to it, but I lost 13 chickens before we had it under control. Introducing adult birds into your flock is always a risk.
 

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